Abstract
The den of a striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) in the northern Negev desert, Israel, wasexcavated in 1986. The den and spatial distribution of its component parts are described. The skeletal parts and scats sampled are the richest known from any recent hyaena denand are described in detail, as they relate to available data on hyaena behaviour. Skeletalremains suggest that hyaenas of the Negev scavenge remains of domestic stock that havedied naturally, including high proportions of equids, camels and caprines, and they mayprey upon canids during conflicts over carcasses. Faeces provide unique insights into thedietary habits of striped hyaenas, revealing evidence of predation upon small mammals, birds, reptiles and arthropods. Finally, species and body parts represented by theskeletons, their sex and age ratios and the qualitative damage to bones may providediagnostic criteria in the taphonomic interpretation of fossil and sub-fossil bone assemblages.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 225-245 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Israel Journal of Zoology |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1992 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
We would like to thank the Israel Nature Reserves Authority for permission to excavate the Arad den; Mr. G. Bani (INRA) for field assistance in a follow-up visit in 1988; Prof. Eitan Tchemov (Department of Zoology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) who provided laboratory facilities and assistance throughout this project; Dr. Bruce Patterson (Head, Division of Mammals, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago) and Ms. T. Shariv (Curator, Zoological Museum, Tel Aviv University) for access to comparative material; Mr. 0. Kobi (ex-INRA) for his generous hospitality and invaluable assistance without which this project would not have been possible; Ms. C. Cope, Mr. G. Davidovitz, Ms. R. Rabinovich (all of the Department of Zoology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and Mr. A. Matmoni (ex-INRA) for their enthusiastic and invaluable assistance in the field. The excavation was supported by grants (to JCK-P) from the Sigma Xi, Chicago Zoological Society and the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Chicago Zoological Society | |
| Leakey Foundation | |
| Sigma Xi |